User:Clairotudors

 La Coopérative de Mai  

The Coopérative de Mai is often known as ‘La coopé’. It is a popular concert hall in Clermont-Ferrand. It was inaugurated by the “Rita Mitsouko” (French band) on the 7th of March, 2000. History This project began in 1998 when the city of Clermont decided to create a concert hall. First, Didier Veillault was the director of Ris-Orangis and the project manager since 1999. Now he is the director of the Coopérative de Mai. He contributed to the success of this project until 2000 when the public service association, Pop’Art carried on the construction. The Coopérative de Mai and the Polydome are located on the former Michelin shop site. In the past it was a shop for employees.

Facilities

The Coopérative de Mai is composed of two huge concert halls: -	The first and smaller one is the “Petite Coopé”. It has a capacity of 464 people. Upstairs, 50 people can access a mezzanine which has a great view on the medium-size stage. -	The second and bigger one is the grand hall. With a capacity of 1500 people, the stage is six times bigger than the “Petite Coopé”.

Important Concerts

Each year we have more than 130 concerts at the Coopé. Since its creation in March 2000, around 1 800 international artists have already performed there such as: Elliot Smith, The National, Patti Smith, Marianne Faithfull, Morrissey, Belle and Sebastian, Tindersticks, Dream Theater, The Hives, Divine Comedy, 30 Seconds to Mars, The White Stripes, Noir Désir, Muse... The Coopérative de Mai has a multitude of facets, it is not simply a concert hall. A number of famous artists have chosen it as their  home. Production, post-production and music editing have interested many famous French artists such as Matthieu Chedid, Indochine, Rinocerose, Alain Bashung…

Local actions

The cooperative de Mai is deeply attached to its regional values. This explains its profound desire to promote locals bands and to welcome them on stage. The coopé has coproduced many albums especially from different local artists such as Jim Yamouridis (compilation MC1 Back In Clermont-Ferrand). There is also an album composed by many covers of the world famous rock band Velvet Underground for the 40th birthday of the worldwide well known album “The Velvet Underground and Nico” thanks to its famous banana. The Coopé intends to promote young labels (eg. Kütu Folk Records) via the Pépinière de Mai in their professional career. The cooperative de Mai leads many eclectic cultural actions in favor of education through public awareness, always looking for support for their new projects or for initiatives concerning current music or even in the art sector (exhibitions, multimedia, music in jail, in schools, in high schools...)